Fighting for You
by MistyxKisame
Summary: It used to be all about her, but then it became all about them. Joaquin x Manolo. Contains yaoi, gender-bending, language, and suicidal themes. If you don't like any of this, don't read this. Will later be rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**I've noticed there are a few (like 2 or 3) yaoi fanfics on this archive, so I've decided to do one. I hope you all enjoy it, because it might be the last and only M rated one with sex (it's not now, but it will be later on) on this site…if I don't make another. If you don't like yaoi, please leave, because I don't want to hear any comments about why I made it that way and I'm dumb and blah, blah, blah. You've been warned both here ****_and_**** on the summary. If you didn't read either and you still complain, you're an idiot. I really hate when people get mad because a certain thing is in it even though they've been warned not to read it because it contains what they don't like. Enough ranting now. Here's the story.**

* * *

Manolo didn't know when he first started liking his best friend as more than a friend, but he guessed it happened some time after Maria left town. Even through all of their training (Manny with his bull fighting and Joaquin training to be some sort of soldier), the two had managed to spend the little time they snuck away from the mayor and Manolo's father. For some reason, as they got older, Manolo found himself clutching his best friend's hand when he was scared or nervous. Sometime after that, it got to the point where the two would hold hands just to do so. It was normal for them to hold hands, even in public. They weren't a couple though. They were just friends, but he wanted that to change that. However he lacked the confidence that his best friend had. Courage he had, but the nerve to walk up to Joaquin and confessed his undying love…that was a problem. He feared that Joaquin would either laugh at him or completely ignore him. The thought made him afraid of losing the only friend he had.

Besides, what if Joaquin still _**liked** _Maria? It had been years since Maria had been seen or heard from. He outgrew his crush on her, but he wasn't sure if his amigo had yet. Whenever they hung out, neither of them discussed Maria except after she left. A year later, their minds were on training sessions more often now and complaining about them, although Joaquin often bragged more than he complained. He hated to think that his friend still wanted Maria. How could he love someone that was gone for years and probably changed so much that she could be barely recognizable? Ever since he figured out that he loved Joaquin, he bore a lot of dislike for Maria.

"Hey, Manny!" Joaquin shouted as Manolo stared out the window lost in his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh hey, Joaquin!"

"You coming or what?"

"For what?"

"You forgot already?" his friend raised a brow. "We were supposed to be **_'practicing'_**…remember?"

"Oh! I'm coming!" Manolo quickly put on his shoes and grabbed his guitar, a gift from Maria from when he liked her. He would have gotten his own, but knew his father would make a fuss over it if he did.

* * *

As he watched Joaquin spar with another soldier, he noticed how gracefully his best friend moved. He had so much confidence within each movement. He wished he possessed as much confidence as him. He was always doubting himself, unlike Joaquin.

"You watching, Manny?" he asked looking hopeful.

"Of course!" he smiled as Joaquin took down the larger male he was fighting.

The sparring session went on for an hour and a half before he was done and they could hang out now. Luckily for him that he had convinced his father to let him have a day off to practice with Joaquin, even though they were really going to goof off. The two ran off to their secret spot inside of a large tree.

"Man, I'm pooped!" Joaquin said sitting down and reading a comic book while Manolo tuned his guitar. "I wish I didn't have to train so hard."

"Really? I thought you liked it."

"I do, but damn he's really pushing me to the extreme." he complained rubbing his shoulder. "My back hurts like a bitch!"

"I wish you would quit cursing like a sailor."

"Well that's who I am...like it or not."

"I guess. Want me to massage your shoulders?"

"Sure. Why not?" Joaquin laid down on his back and Manolo massaged his back. He felt himself turn bright red as Joaquin started moaning really sexually. "Oh yeah…right there…shit…keep going…oooh…aaah…mmmph!"

"Hey! Stop that!" Manolo snapped, although he was enjoying the noise himself.

"I can't help it. Your hands are so…ah…fuck! Right there! Your hands are so amazing! Right there…mmm! Harder! What's wrong with me letting you know I like what you're doing?"

"Because it sounds like I'm…you know…" he was turning bright red.

Joaquin sat down and looked at his friend, trying to comprehend what he was getting at. He smirked when he figured what he meant. "What?" he whispered seductively in his friend's ear. "Fucking me?"

"Don't say it like that!" he squeaked jumping back, blushing even harder than before.

"Oh come on, Manolo. I was only messing around." he laughed. Manolo didn't answer as he turned even redder. Joaquin wrapped an arm around his best friend. "It's not like you actually wanna do it…or do you? I don't blame you if you do. I am pretty sexy after all and I'm a virgin, so my ass is pretty tight and it'd feel so good..."

"I'm leaving!" Manolo said firmly as he pushed away his friend. Joaquin didn't know it, but his best friend was sporting an erection from his crush's dirty talk and the way he whispered in his ear.

"Did I say something?" Joaquin asked densely.

"I've gotta go!" he snapped grabbing his bag and leaving the tree.

"Wait!" the taller teen grabbed his friend's arm. "Did I say something?"

"Let me go!"

"Manolo, what...?" Suddenly he noticed his friend's "problem" and let go quickly as he turned bright red.

* * *

Manolo ran as fast as he could back home, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. He ignored his father's question about why he was home and not with Joaquin. Once he was upstairs, he cried silently for a long time underneath the covers. What if Joaquin hated him now? Boys weren't supposed to think such things about each other, especially their best friends. Joaquin was probably disgusted and wouldn't want to be around him anymore. Manolo hadn't asked to feel this way, but he did. Now their friendship was ruined and it was all his fault for being different.

* * *

That's all for now. I'm off to finish editing the other stories I have and put them out too. I hope you all will tune in next time!


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks later and Manolo had managed to completely avoid his crush. He was upset that he had to do so because of what happened a few weeks ago. His guitar was still in the tree to his knowledge and he feared seeing Joaquin, so he avoided going in there and retrieving it. His fingers itched to play it, to sing and play to get rid of those emotions and express them and make him feel better. Alas, he couldn't.

'This is stupid!' he told himself as he left his house and made his way to the store to pick up some bread. 'I can't avoid him forever! He's going to ask me about it sooner or later…besides…if he wants to find someone, he'll find them.'

If Joaquin did seek him and find ask him what that…thing…was all about…what could he say? He sure as heck couldn't say he had the hots for him that was for sure! Maybe he could say that his ears were causing it. He had seen somewhere (probably in one of those dirty magazines Joaquin had showed him once that he had stolen from underneath General Posada's floor boards) that the ears could be used to cause the body to melt like a bowl full of jello and easily turn someone on. That would probably the best option he had right now. Just as he was about to enter the grocery store, he heard his name being called.

He felt his face go red when he saw Joaquin rushing over. "Hey, Manolo! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"H-hey, Joaquin." he said avoiding his friend's eyes. Joaquin didn't seem upset or angry. As a matter of fact, he looked really happy. Why?

"I have something for you, but I can't give it to you right now." he gestured to the old lady across the street that was holding two very big bags. "I'll come over to your house later on tonight."

Before he could ask what for, the taller teen had run back over to the old lady and grabbed one of the bags. What he wanted to give him, he didn't know. He couldn't think of anything on the spot, but maybe he would later.

* * *

It was 10:30 p.m. and Joaquin still had not showed up. Had he changed his mind? Manolo wasn't sure. He figured that his crush had changed his mind, so he drifted off to sleep. Around midnight, he heard something knocking on his window. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he went on over and saw Joaquin at his window. He opened up the window and allowed his best friend to crawl in.

"What are you doing here so late?" he scolded. "Everyone's asleep and I was too."

"I know, I know…I just wanted to give you this back." Joaquin pulled out Manolo's guitar. "I figured you missed it. You took off so fast…"

Manolo turned red and rubbed the back of his head. "L-listen, Joaquin...I'm really sorry for…"

"It's no big deal." Joaquin grinned. "It happens to me all the time!"

"I didn't need to know that." he said teasingly. It actually made him feel a lot better.

"Well best friends tell each other everything…which is another reason why I'm here." Joaquin said looking a bit nervous all of a sudden.

"Oh?" Manolo said noticing the look on his amigo's face.

"You might want to sit down for this…and you've gotta promise that you won't beat me over the head with that guitar."

"I won't." he said sitting down and wondering why on earth his best friend would think he would hit him. He never got that mad at anyone before, not even when Joaquin was being super boastful.

"Okay…" He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but then shut it. He did this 3 more times while clinching his fists before he mumbled to himself, "I can't do it…"

He made his way towards the window. "Sorry for bothering you."

"No, wait!" Manolo said a bit too loudly. He quickly locked his door in case his father got up and he grabbed Joaquin's arm. "You can tell me. I can tell it's really bothering you and you know you want to say it."

Joaquin just stood there twiddling his fingers and looked over his shoulders outside. "I don't know…what if…what if you hate me forever if I tell you?"

"Nothing you do could ever make me hate you." Manolo reassured him as he placed both his hands on Joaquin's muscular shoulders. "You're my best friend! "

Joaquin took a deep breath and before Manolo knew it, they were kissing. It shocked him to the core and he just stood there letting him kiss him. When the taller teen pulled away, he whispered. "I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry you guys had to wait so long for this fanfic. It's been un-updated ever since March. At least it's not my earlier unfinished fanfics which haven't been updated since 2012. It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but fuck it. It's not like I'm going completely by the movie, which is hilarious with the whole romance plot. I can't take it seriously with the Mary Sue like love interest, Manolo, and Joaquin. I really can't. I just don't find her interesting nor do I care about her. She's okay, but she's not doing enough for me to care who gets her or not. I mean seriously, why are they still in love with her after all these years? Joaquin and Manolo (mainly Joaquin) could have gotten laid a thousand times over before she showed up. The romance plot kind of doesn't make any sense…OH WAIT IT DOESN'T AT ALL. Sorry about that. I know someone's probably same thing about my fanfic, but whatever.

* * *

Manolo was completely caught off guard and it took a while for him to take it all in at once. This was almost too good to be true. He pinched himself and found himself wide awake. "Joaquin, you're not pulling my leg are you?"

"I…no…no I'm not." Joaquin was turning a bit red in the face. "I don't know why, but whenever I'm around you…I get these feelings I used to when I was around Maria…but different somehow. When I'm around you, I feel like I could kiss you and hold you all the time…like I could never let you go. Whenever you're gone, I feel…sad. I want to protect you and I'd do anything for you like…like…I don't know! I guess I'm confused or something. I don't know if this is even what it is!"

"Joaquin relax." He pulled his best friend onto the bed to sit with him. "I understand. I…I've been having these feeling too."

"You have?" Joaquin sounded a bit more relieved. "How long?"

"Not too long after Maria left." He admitted. "Besides Maria, you're the only one I've ever wanted."

"I'm glad." The taller male smiled. "I was afraid to tell you before, but I wasn't sure if you were over Maria or not…hell I wasn't even sure if you even liked men."

"Well now that you know the truth, what now?" Manolo asked.

"Damn, I don't know. Maybe we're a thing now?" he sounded unsure. "I mean if you want to be a thing."

"Y-yes! I mean yeah sure." Manolo blushed. In the inside he was celebrating. Finally!

"Posada isn't going to be happy about this. I mean I don't care that he wouldn't like this but still. He's always saying I'm like a son to him and expects me to marry Maria once she comes back and have children."

'Not if I can help it.' The younger male thought as he squeezed the other man's hand. "We'll figure something out."

"I guess so. I'd better get going. I've got training early so…yeah. I'll see you later." The taller male departed as quickly as he had come. Manolo was happy. So Joaquin didn't like Maria romantically anymore! It was a dream come true! He could rest easy now.

For the next few years, the two remained close, but behind closed doors they were even closer. Touches, kisses, and adoring words were exchanged in private, but other than that their relationship basically stayed the same. The only part was that Joaquin was one horny son of a bitch. Manolo kept telling him that he would have sex with him when he was ready. Joaquin eventually learned to drop it, but still kept hope that it would happen. Speaking of hoping, Joaquin was hoping that once he returned to his hometown, the next time he left again he would come with Manolo and travel around with him. Joaquin always had new stories to tell and he felt bad that his he couldn't experience it for himself.

Manolo had never been outside of their town before so it be a big change for him and it could even help him to write his songs which were always great in Joaquin ears. If he liked it enough and wanted to, the two of them could run off together and no longer be forced to hide their love for each other. Manolo didn't mind it, but Joaquin seriously did. He longed to show people that he had only one person he loved in his life and that one person was his and nobody else's. There were times he wanted to strangle women for even glancing at Manolo with interest or to passionately kiss the man in public to show that he was his. Alas if he did that, life would be horrible for them for as long as they were in town. Everything both had worked so hard for and the approval they had finally gotten, weren't going to matter anymore. Yes it had to be kept a secret, but one day Joaquin hoped they could get away and be whoever they wanted to be away from disapproving eyes.

When the day finally came for Joaquin to return home, his first thought was to pop in on his best friend and boyfriend, but he was feeling tired. After a long day of defeating bandits, he decided that he could wait another day or, if not that, he could wait a few hours after a good nap. Just as Joaquin was about to climb the staircase, he heard a knock on the door. He groaned. Did someone really have to come visit right after his travels? Surely the thought that he might be tired should have crossed their minds a few times.

'If its Manolo, that's one thing. If it's anybody else, they can just fuck off.' he tiredly made his way to the door, but not before straightening himself up first to look presentable. When he opened the door, he found that it was General Posada. Oh joy.

"Good afternoon, Joaquin." the older man said with a huge grin on his face. He looked as if he about to burst about something exciting. "Everything went well?"

"Yeah, but it's got me really tired. I was about take a…"

"Good, good. Very good. I've got something I want to talk to you about." the short man said very quickly interrupting whatever his most prized soldier was about to say and inviting himself right into his house.

"Okay. I guess the nap can wait." Joaquin rolled his eyes. What he wanted, he'd better make it fast. He wanted to get a quick nap in before seeing Manolo. Looks like he would have to wait another day.

Settling down in the living room and Posada helping himself to some wine, Joaquin's bottom barely hit the seat cushion when Posada dropped the bomb on him. "So when are you going to get married? You're not asexual are you?"

"W-what?" Joaquin was slightly thrown off by the question. "Why would you say those things?"

"I've been keeping a close eye on you ever since you were a child, Joaquin. It's not hard to notice how the ladies look at you, yet I've never seen you approach them. I was thinking if you're not approaching if you might be having any troubles, if you just don't want a significant other, or if you're waiting for someone." Here Posada looked very hopeful. "Maybe someone overseas?"

"Well…I…uh…"

"Of course you are! Why else are you ignoring all of those lustful stares from all of those pretty young women?"

He started to say that he was seeing someone, but kept his mouth shut. There was no way he was revealing his secret to Posada or anybody else. "Yeah sure."

"I knew it! Well rest assured she's coming to the bullfight coming up. It'll give you plenty of time to prepare." Before Joaquin could say anything, Posada thanked the man for hosting him and left to prepare for his daughter's return.

'Why the heck would he want me to marry Maria? She's been gone for more than 5 years and I've lost interest. Maybe I should have gotten a fake girlfriend or at least made one up. I can't marry her when I love Manolo. Manolo would rather have sex with me where everyone can see me than me marry someone else! On second thought…'

Joaquin just shook his head. He'd just tell Posada that he wasn't interested…but first a nap.

Meanwhile Manolo was looking for some song lyrics he had written for his boyfriend when he found a small box that he had nearly forgotten about. He picked it up and opened it up. Inside was a wedding ring that he had purchased for the soldier. He had gotten it outside of town due to the fact that he didn't want anybody telling his father about it or having the man see it himself. The only girl Manolo had a chance of being a cover up for him was Maria, a girl he had long ago lost interest in.

The reason why he hadn't give the ring to Joaquin wasn't even due to nerves. I mean nerves were a problem and everything, but it was mostly because of his travels. Just when Manolo was about to propose, Joaquin had to leave on urgent business. After his bull fighting match, he would do it quick before anything else could happen. He closed the box and place in underneath his mattress. He smiled to himself thinking of how happy Joaquin would be about it. At the same time, he worried a little. Joaquin had once talked about having children that would become the perfect soldier just like him and his father. That was when they were much younger, way before they were together. He had said it again once a couple of years ago. Manolo had pointed out that he couldn't have children and they were both men. Joaquin said they would worry about that later.

Manolo would like to have a child one day, but he had a feeling that Joaquin wanted a child that had his genes. Whenever he thought about having a child with Joaquin, it saddened him that he was not able to bare children. As much as he would treat an adopted child with as much love as a child that was his, it bothered him that he was unable to have a child with Joaquin's handsome features, his gracious brown eyes, and his brave nature. This of course came from another conversation from a few years back. Of course they could ask a woman to mother their child, but it seemed that everyone woman who saw Joaquin was madly in love with him or liked him a lot. Besides, there was no way he was letting some woman lay his hands on his boyfriend or himself least she take him away.

Once the day of the bull fighting match came, he was nervous. He was afraid of messing up everything and dishonoring his family. His grandmother doubted that he could kill the bull and deep down Manolo doubted that himself too. His father and Joaquin had given him a lot of pointers to dodge, attack, and kill. Manolo had tried his best to memorize what they had taught him, but only remembered just a little. He had to do his best. Not only for his family and boyfriend, but also for himself. He had to prove himself that he could do this and not give in.

Before the match started, he looked into the ring watching another fighter in the ring. That guy didn't seem nervous or scared. He had obviously done this before and knew what he was doing. Manolo was scared. What if he messed up and hurt? What if he couldn't kill the bull? It was easy to listen to his father's matches and his boyfriend's battles, but hard to place himself in their places.

'If I mess up, dad's going to give me crap. I can't kill a bull! I've never even harmed an animal in my entire life.' Manolo began playing with his fingers. He wished he was as confident as his boyfriend and father. 'I can't do this! I can't do this! I have to get out of here before…'

"There you are!"

"J-joaquin!" Manolo jumped, surprised. "You scared me, you jerk!"

"Sorry about that. You look tense. Are you okay?"

"Not really." Manolo sighed. "I…I…I'm nervous."

"You'll do just fine." He smiled placing his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders. "After all you did have pretty good teachers, namely me."

"That's true…but…" He looked away. "I'm…scared."

"What for?"

"What if I can't do it? What if I miss and the bull gets me? What if I get killed? What if I…"

"Don't worry about it, Manny. You'll do just fine. I promise. I'm your lucky charm, remember?"

"Since when?"

"Whatever man. Look, don't worry about it. You'll do great. You've been practicing ever since we were kids. You're more ready than most people are. You're gonna be great!" He smiled. "Trust me."

"Thanks." Although his boyfriend's words comforted him, he was still nervous about the match. "I'll try my best."

The two of them stared into each other's eyes and just went it seemed they were about to kiss, they quickly stopped themselves just as they heard Manolo's dad coming.

"Manolo, there you are. Oh hello, Joaquin. You here to wish my son luck?"

"Of course. He's my best friend." said the soldier. "I'd better let you get ready, Manolo. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. I'll see you later…" Manolo then mumbled to himself. "…if I even survive this."

After a quick prep talk with his father, Manolo decided that he'd give it his all despite feeling sick and even feeling as if he was going to faint. Just as the last match seemed like it was about to end, his father mentioned that Maria was back in town. Manolo just stared at his father with a look that said "does it look like I care?"

"What's wrong, Manolo? You don't seem too happy about her being back."

"No, I'm happy. I'm just so nervous, I forgot how to respond." Manolo said blankly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine." he smiled at his son. "Who knows, maybe you'll impress Maria. I remember how much you used to like her."

"Yeah." Manolo said looking at the ground. 'Key words: used to.'

"Looks like the match is almost done. Good luck out there son."

"Yeah…luck." he mumbled as his dad walked off. Manolo hoped that he wouldn't mess this up. As he walked into the ring, he could only prayed that Joaquin and his father's training had paid off and nothing could go wrong.

* * *

More coming soon. In other news, at first I wasn't able to see my reviews on the site, but now I can! Yay!


	4. Chapter 4

Things ended up going horrible. At first he was doing fine, up until he was about to land the final blow onto the bull. He made eye contact with Maria and her big puppy eyes obviously begging him not to do it. Before he knew it, he had forfeited what he had been training to do for years and for what? A girl he had long gotten over and really didn't feel anything towards. What the hell was wrong with him?!*

As expected his father was disappointed in him and flat out said that he dishonored their whole family**. Joaquin…well Manolo wasn't sure what he thought. It couldn't be anymore hurtful than what his father said, could it? He hoped not. Maria came over after his father basically told him that he wasn't his son anymore.

"Manolo that was amazing what you did back there!" She said smiling as if she'd won a million dollars. "I'm glad you didn't kill the bull. That was very noble of you."

"Yeah." He said putting on a fake smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing except my dad hates me now." mumbled the young man.

"He doesn't hate you. Even if he wanted you to do the opposite of what you just did, _I_ think you did the right thing. He'll get over it." she assured him. "Anyways, he's still your dad. He'll always love you."

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you." That was a lie since he didn't give a damn about what she thought. If it wasn't for those huge, beautiful eyes and that gorgeous face…

"Why don't you stop by my house later and we can all catch up? Just the three of us."

"3?"

"Yeah. Me, you, and Joaquin."

"Maybe another day. I'm pretty tired." Although he would do anything not to go home, he was indeed pretty tired and miserable.

"Well I hope you feel better. I'll see later."

"Yeah. Later." Manolo watched as his childhood friend walked off.

Although he had no interest in her, he had to admit that she had gotten very pretty over the years not that she wasn't before. Luckily Joaquin was a loyal boyfriend and they had a strong relationship. Speaking of Joaquin…

"Manolo, what the hell happened back there? You had it down until the end. It was me, wasn't it? I got you too nervous, didn't I?"

"No, it wasn't you." Manolo assured his boyfriend. "I just saw Maria and…"

"Oh right. I forgot she liked animals." Joaquin looked relieved that he wasn't the reason Manolo couldn't kill the bull while Manolo just nodded. "Well better luck next time."

"Next time…right." He mumbled. "I don't think there's going to be a next time, Joaquin."

"I see." Joaquin looked over to where Maria was. The young woman was having a conversation with an old woman. "She sure is a site for sore eyes. She's gotten prettier over the years, huh, Manolo?"

"Yeah, she has, not that she wasn't before." Manolo raised a brow at the taller male.

"I've heard quite a bit about her from General Posada. She's done well over the past few years. You should hear what they say about her. She sounds like the perfect wife in every way."

"Oh really?"

"Not that she has anything on you." Joaquin said rather quickly. "I'm just saying if we or one of us or anybody else were going after her, she'd make the perfect woman."

"Whatever." Manolo rolled his eyes, dismissing it as he was too upset to care. "Is it alright if I stay at your place for a little while? I don't think I can face my dad now."

"Sure. I wouldn't want to face your dad either." he admitted.

Back at Joaquin's house, the two laying in bed with Manolo laying on Joaquin's chest listening to the rhythm of his heart beating. He found it a bit relaxing and soon he drifted off to sleep in Joaquin's strong arms. Meanwhile Joaquin's thoughts drifted off to what Posada and he had been discussing. Posada had deeply expressed that he wanted Joaquin to marry his daughter over the past few weeks and even went into great detail about the things the various that had been said about Maria. He had thought about discussing what to do with Manolo, but with what just happened he decided it could wait.

What was the point of bringing up something that shouldn't even be considered between two people who loved each other? He wasn't planning on leaving Manolo for Maria, even if she had a cute smile, a beautiful face, and a very lovely body…he shook his head. Was he really thinking about those things? Sure Maria was pretty and from what he heard she was pretty amazing, but his heart laid with Manolo. The two of them had been together and known each other far longer than they had Maria. As pretty and nice as Maria was, he wouldn't push Manolo aside for anything else in the world.

However he did have to consider their situation more than ever after the constant egging on of Posada to propose to Maria. The biggest problem were that they were both men. Had Manolo or himself had been born a woman or even looked like one, it wouldn't be a problem. If one of them were a woman, they could get married without a care in the world. However they were both men and expected to marry women to carry on their name and their child. Even if they did get married or whatever, he was sure they'd be a disgrace to their families and even the town they lived in. San Angel was their home and Joaquin enjoyed coming home back to their peaceful town after a week or so of adventures. The best part was coming home to Manolo.

Joaquin didn't have any family in San Angel besides Posada, who served as a father figure after his father died and his mother moved away***, and Manolo of course. Moving away wasn't going to be as bad for him since there wasn't really anything tying him down completely. Manolo on the other had his father and grandmother, both of whom had raised him after his mother died. Taking him away from San Angel was the only logical solution to be free to live how they pleased even if it meant leaving the only place they'd lived all of their life. He had thought about asking Manolo what he thought about leaving with him, but of course never got around to it. Between Manolo's bull fighting, going off and fighting bandits and stopping thieves, training other soldiers, and Posada coming over and giving him reasons to marry Maria, Joaquin barely had the time to pull the guy to the side and talk about it.

Even if he had the time, Manolo didn't. He was preparing for his bull match and was already stressed about it. Bothering Manolo about if he wanted to leave town with him and leave somewhere else, was a huge decision that had to be thought about and could seriously mess up his concentration. Now that this was over and done, Manolo was still in no condition to talk and think about it clearly. He was clearly pretty upset over what just happened. It just wasn't the time to ask.

As he watched the shorter man sleeping on top of him, he ran he fingers though his boyfriend's silky brown hair. He didn't want their relationship to end after all this time. Manolo shifted around in the bed and rolled off of his boyfriend. "Joaquin…"

"Huh?"

"What? Did you say something?"

"You said my name in your sleep."

"Oh. Sorry." Manolo turned to his boyfriend.

"You okay?"

"Not really…" He began tracing his fingers on his boyfriend's chest. "Thanks for letting me sleep over."

"You know you're welcome to stay here any time, Manolo." Joaquin rubbed his boyfriend's back. "As a matter of fact, why don't you move in with me?"

"You?" Manolo looked up at him. "I…you know I can't."

"Why not?"

"We've discussed this before, Joaquin." Manolo rolled his eyes. "My dad and grandmother need me at home. Besides, it wouldn't look right."

"Come on, please?"

"Maybe I could stay for a few days, but no more than a few."

"It's better than nothing I guess. It'd be better if you came and lived with me. It's lonely enough in this house."

"Mansion." corrected his boyfriend.

"Whatever. It's all the same for me." There was a moment of silence between them until Joaquin spoke up. "Manny?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." Manolo pressed his lips against his boyfriend's lips. "I don't know why you'd say that. I know you love me."

"I know…it's just…I wanted you to know that. I don't need a reason to tell you, do I?"

"I guess not, but it is nice when you tell me that." Manolo closed his eyes. They were quiet for a moment. "I'm not getting rid of it."

"Getting rid of what?"

"Don't be stupid, Joaquin."

"Oh that." Joaquin rubbed the back of his head looking embarrassed. "Are you sure you don't wanna…"

"Do I need to leave you be for a minute?"

"No, it's alright. I'll be fine."

"Joaquin, I'll still be here when you get here. Besides, I don't feel like getting poked in the back."

"This could be a lot more fun if you'd let me actually have sex with you."

"I'm sure it would be, Joaquin, but not until I'm ready, remember?"

"Right. Shit." He sighed and got out of bed. Damn Manolo and his ability to last for so long. Manolo was lucky that the man was a loyal boyfriend. Otherwise he would have happily gone after the cute girls that tried wooing him over the years. He smirked a little at the various memories.

While the girls at home he mainly ignored, without Manolo around to constantly remind him that he was taken the many females during his travels freely flirted with him. He remembered them touching all over his muscles and abs, complimenting his glorious mustache, and admiring his adventures and medals. All of this was of course an ego stroking, which Joaquin didn't mind at all, and he had almost given into desire quite a few times, mainly away from home. However just when that happened, he would see the man's face and refuse, telling them that he had someone at home. While you would think that the women would back off and leave him be, most still didn't care. Some backed off and let him be while majority of women and a few men every now still pursued him.

Still though, he kept loyal and kept to himself to resist temptation. It was nothing but lust and his hormones running wild. Even now that the beautiful Maria had returned, Joaquin treated her as an old friend and not a girl he was still into. Maria was a beautiful as she had been when they were children, but of course had matured in her looks. Her voice was pleasant to the ear, her skin was as soft as silk, and she had a nice shape to that fantastic body of her's. While the match before Manolo's was going on, the two of them had a chance to converse for a while. Her laugh was like bells and her voice like an angel's. The more they talked, the more Joaquin remembered why he and Manolo used to be rivals for her love and attention. If he and Manolo weren't a couple, he'd leap at the chance to have a relationship with her, an intimate one especially.

Imagine having that hot piece of ass underneath him, hearing her screaming out his name, feeling her touch all over him, and being inside of that tight body of hers. He shook his head at that horrible thought.

'What am I even thinking? I don't love her.' Joaquin shook his head as he finally reached for the doorknob to the bathroom. 'She's just an old friend. I don't love her. This is just lust…lust I need to get rid of.'

By the time he had gotten back to the bedroom, Manolo was still up staring at the ceiling. He looked up when Joaquin came back in. "Took you long enough. Got lost or something?"

"Nah. Just thinking about some shit. Why are you up?"

"I was thinking about some stuff too." He admitted.

"Oh? What were you thinking about?"

"Just how I'm going to deal with my father when I go back home."

"That's a depressing thought, Manolo."

"I know. Every time I don't think of other things, I keep thinking about it."

"It's going to be alright, Manny. He can't stay mad at you forever."

"I know…but I still let him down."

"He'll get over it. I mean it was only one match. He's being a big fucking baby about it."

"Maybe…" Manolo curled up with his boyfriend. "I just wanna forget about everything. Good night, Joaquin."

"Night, Manolo."

* * *

*The power of the boner is the main theme of this whole movie.

**I remember when we watched this movie in Spanish class and someone made the comment that they weren't in China when Manolo's dad said that part. XD

***I read in the wiki that his mother wasn't dead, but moved away. Apparently he also has a sister. Neither of them matter, so I don't care about them. I think him having a sister was a lie though. If she was mentioned, I don't know nor care. The only reason I know this is because of the wiki and people lie on that thing sometimes so yeah.


	5. Chapter 5

Master of Down- Oh the chapters coming up are coming along fine. They shouldn't be too long before they come out.

Fan of the flan- Me either. There are about 1 or 2 that are worth reading to be honest for Janolo until it turns into full on Manolo/Maria or some shit and never goes back to Janolo. Other than two of them, I really can't find any good ones. To be honest, every time I look for one, I end up finding Manolo x Maria, which is really annoying.

Guest- 1) Why would that need to be confirmed on Twitter? Why not mention it in the movie? Why the hell should I care about a character that never is seen in the movie much less never even gets mention?

2) I don't want a Twitter. Why should I even be following that guy on Twitter anyways? I'm not that big of a fan of the movie to follow that guy for little trivia facts or whatever. I don't do that with the director/author/whatever of movie/books/ tv shows I really like.

* * *

Even though he wasn't ready for coming out of hiding, Manolo eventually forced himself to get out of the Mondragon mansion and went home after around 2 days. His dad was still acting funny towards him and pouting about how his son had messed up at the last match the whole time. His grandmother wasn't doing anything to help matters by saying stuff like, "I told you he couldn't do it," "What did you except?" and among other things. Manolo started wishing that he had taken Joaquin's offer to move in with him or at least stay a bit longer. As much as he loved his family, this whole situation was blown way out of proposition to be honest.

It wasn't even a few minutes into dinner when he got fed up with his father's attitude and left. He headed over to the lone tree at the far end of town to clear up his head. Yeah he knew that his father was mad and his mother was probably disappointed that her son wasn't the matador she wanted him to be, but what about his hopes and dreams? It was at times like these where Manolo was jealous of Joaquin. The soldier had been able to achieve his dream with support while Manolo was practically forced to do something he could respect if someone else was doing, but as for himself? He actually hated bullfighting to be honest. He would rather play music all day and sing, which was a talent he was actually good at.

He hated not being able to just be what he wanted in life. He couldn't be with Joaquin like he wanted because he was a man. He couldn't be what he wanted because his parents wanted him to be a bullfighter. Life could be unfair sometimes. The only thing he could count on these days was his boyfriend. Joaquin could be full of himself some days, but underneath that narcissistic demeanor was a kind, understanding man. Whenever Manolo had a problem, Joaquin was always there to make him feel better or try and help him out with whatever problems he was having. Even if the world was against him, there was always Joaquin to be on his side. Even if the two weren't a couple, Manolo was happy he had someone like Joaquin there for him. He didn't know what he would do if he ever lost his best friend.

Meanwhile Joaquin was having a bit of trouble with Posada. Posada had invited him over for dinner, in hopes that Maria would fall for Joaquin during that time. Joaquin had tried making up excuses as to why he couldn't come, but every excuse came with a rebuttal thus cancelling out whatever excuse the young man could come up with. It wasn't that he didn't like Maria or was trying to get away from her. He did find Maria attractive and pretty likable, but the thing is that he was in a relationship with someone he really cared about. If he and Manolo weren't a thing, hell yeah he'd go after that fine piece of ass. There was no lie about that part. However his heart lied with Manolo and it would stay there until there was a good reason they should split up. Maria being hot was no good excuse. Hell Manolo was good looking too, but that wasn't the only reason they were together.

Posada tried his best to get them together with Joaquin trying his best to sound interested in the young woman. Of course he was just pretending that he was interested in her, but overall he was just doing it to throw Posada and Maria off so neither of them would be none the wiser. It seemed that it was kind of working with Posada although Maria seemed bored. Good, although Joaquin was a little ticked off Maria found his many achievements kind of dull with Maria in turn getting upset when Joaquin seemed to enjoy the things she said about what a wife would do like cook, clean, rub his feet, and all sorts of things that Maria identified as being a trophy wife. To be honest it did sound nice to Joaquin. He didn't think there was anything wrong with wanting any of that. Maybe that's the part that made her angry the most, slap him, and lecture him how women weren't trophies…blah blah blah…Joaquin nearly fell asleep.

"Now, now, Maria. I'm sure Joaquin didn't mean that." Posada assured her.

"Yeah, sure…" mumbled the soldier still rubbing the cheek she slapped. 'I wonder what got her panties in a bunch.'

After that little event, Posada tried steering them back on track, when it was pretty obvious that maybe he should try again tomorrow or better yet another day. Once that was gratefully over with, Joaquin got out of there and headed over to Manolo's house to search for the man. Manolo's grandmother answered the door and told him that Manolo left a few minutes ago. Joaquin nodded and left to go search the shorter male. As expected, Manolo was underneath their tree staring at the stars with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Hey."

"Hey." Manolo mumbled.

"You alright?"

"Now that you're here, yeah." he leaned on his lover. "It's times like this I wish time would stop so we could be together forever like this."

"Yeah."

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing…except…" Once again Joaquin pondered on whether or not to tell his boyfriend about Posada and Maria.

"…Except?"

"Well, Posada wants me to marry Maria."

"Are you?"

"Don't be stupid, Manolo. Of course I'm not going to marry her. Are you crazy or something?"

"No need to get defensive." Manolo frowned not liking the tone in Joaquin's voice.

"Then why'd you fucking ask then?"

"Joaquin, you're being a jerk. I just asked a simple question." Manolo glared at him. Even if it was a dumb question, he didn't have to be an asshole about it. He felt like there was something Joaquin wasn't telling him. "We're going to have to do something about us soon, so I felt the need to ask."

Joaquin was quiet for a minute. "You're right. I'm…sorry…I don't even know what came over me."

"I understand. It must be hard being pressured to be with a girl you don't love."

"Not as bad as having a dad pressuring you to be something you don't want to be."

"More or less…I hate my life sometimes." Manolo sighed. "You're the only reason why I'm even still going. Otherwise…I don't know..."

"Hey, don't be like that." He placed an arm around his boyfriend. "I'm pretty sure you'd have found someone better."

"Maybe…" Manolo grabbed Joaquin's hand. "I prefer you though."

"I prefer you too." Joaquin smiled too, nuzzling his lover.

The two stayed together for an hour or so before they drifted off to sleep. A few hours later, Manolo felt something tickling his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw a yellow butterfly on his nose. He gently waved it away and looked around. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Geez, what time was it? Looking at Joaquin's wrist, he saw that it was about six in the morning.

"Joaquin, wake up!" Manolo lightly tapped him on the face with his hand. "You've gotta get going."

"Huh, what?" Joaquin mumbled in his sleep. "I'm not done yet."

"Wake up, idiot!" Manolo shook. "You've got training today!"

"What?" Joaquin rubbed his eye. "Get what?"

"Training, dummy!"

"Oh! Right!" Joaquin jumped up. "Oh shit! I forgot!"

Joaquin jumped up and left only to come back and kiss Manolo on the cheek before leaving again. After a full day of training, Joaquin was brushing the sweat from his brow when he saw Maria watching him. She seemed to be impressed. Joaquin went over.

"Oh hey, Maria. I didn't expect you here today." Joaquin said truthfully. After last night, he had expected for Maria to never speak to him again…or at least for a while.

"I was passing by and saw you over here, so I decided to see what the fuss was about. I'm impressed." Maria said honestly. "I thought you and my dad were just bragging. You can really handle yourself out there. "

"Oh really?" Maria just nodded. Joaquin decided that now was the time to apologize to Maria while she was in a good mood. "Hey, Maria, I'm really sorry about what I said last night. I wasn't even thinking."

"And I'm sorry for slapping you." said Maria.

"I got something for you." Joaquin pulled out Maria's childhood bonnet.

Maria gasped in surprised and smiled as she took the bonnet from Joaquin. "Joaquin, I can't believe this. You kept this for all these years?"

"Yeah." Joaquin blushed.

"Oh, Joaquin. That's so sweet of you!" Maria gave Joaquin a kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to go put this in a safe place. Thank you, Joaquin."

Maria seemed pretty happy about what Joaquin had given her and went off. Joaquin touched his cheek. Maria had just kissed him. He felt like he had died and gone to heaven. It wasn't until he was on his way home when he wondered what the hell kind of thought was that? Thank goodness that Manolo wasn't there. After taking a quick shower, he invited his boyfriend over for the night, to which Manolo happily accepted.

Before Manolo had even gotten into the house fully, Joaquin yanked him in, shut the door, and quickly and passionately made out with him. The kiss left Manolo both breathless, flustered, and confused. Joaquin meanwhile seemed relieved. "Good…it's still there."

"What's still there?"

"Uh nothing." Joaquin just shook his head and walked off, leaving Manolo even more confused. What was up with Joaquin? The rest of the night, Joaquin was quiet, which made the shorter male more confused. He tried getting him to talk more, but he always seemed to be deep in thought about something.

Manolo sat in Joaquin's lap while they were in the library of the house, something he was normally embarrassed to do. Joaquin didn't even seem to care. "Joaquin, come on. Talk to me."

"Hm?" Joaquin looked down at Manolo who was pouting all cute like. "What?"

"Come on, Joaquin. I want some attention." Manolo said trying to act as cute as possible. As much as Manolo hated trying to act cute, Joaquin always loved it. Today, Joaquin didn't seem into it at all.

"I'm sorry, Manolo." He rubbed his boyfriend's back. "I'm just a little tired…plus I've been thinking some things over."

"Oh…do you want me to leave?"

"No! No…I need you here." He held Manolo tight.

"Okay." He wondered what was up with Joaquin. He seemed stressed and…scared? Was he scared of something? The soldier wasn't one who was scared easily to be honest. Did someone find out about him and Joaquin? He kissed his cheek.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

When they got into the bedroom, Joaquin took off his clothes and put on his pajama pants and shirt. Okay, now this was suspicious too. Normally Joaquin slept with nothing on except his boxers or with nothing on in those days when Manolo wasn't sleeping over or those times when Manolo slept in another room because of some small argument they had or because of Joaquin's horniness. Other than that, he would have slept in his pjs in the Winter time or if he was cold.

"No boxers tonight, Joaquin?" Manolo said teasingly.

"Hm? I guess not." he admitted getting into bed.

"Do you mind if I slept in your shirt?" He loved it when he slept in his clothes.

"Go ahead. Knock yourself out." he said in a bored tone.

Manolo crawled into bed and rested on top of Joaquin's chest. Normally Joaquin would run his fingers through his hair or rub his back until Manolo drifted off to sleep or try and grab his ass. Tonight Joaquin kept his hands to himself and just closed his eyes. Manolo tried getting him to cuddle with him, but he still kept sleeping. After a while he gave up and went to sleep. Over the next few days, Joaquin continued acting this way every now and then. He was distant, a bit moody, and unaffectionate some days. Other days he was the same man he fell in love with. Manolo wondered what he had done wrong or if he…he couldn't bear the thought of even thinking his boyfriend would leave him. He figured it had something to do with Posada pressuring him. He hoped that was the case.

* * *

Next chapter **_will_** contain a lemon aka a sex scene aka man on man action. If you don't like that, you may wanna skip over it.


	6. Chapter 6

One afternoon while he was in his room daydreaming, someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

"Hey, Manolo." It was Joaquin.

"Hey, Joaquin!" Manolo sat up. "Wait, how'd you get in here?"

"You gave me an extra key, remember?"

"Oh right." he got up from his bed. "Did you want something?"

"Yes…I…I want you." he slurred. Manolo frowned. Joaquin was drunk. Manolo could smell it on his breath.

"You stupid idiot. Were you out drinking again?" he helped his boyfriend sit down the bed. "You know how you get when you get drunk, Joaquin!"

"Come on, don't…don't be like that, baby." Joaquin stroked Manolo's cheek. "You look so pretty tonight, sweetheart. Let me get a peek at that chest of your's."

"I'm not a woman." He slapped his hand away from his shirt. "Joaquin, come on. Let's get your drunk butt home!"

"No…not…not…not yet. Let me kiss you a little, Manolo."

"Stop, Joaquin." Manolo tried pushing his boyfriend off as he began to kiss all over him. Joaquin began nibbling on his ear and kissing on his neck and face. He had begun to give into his advantages, but reframed from doing so. "Joaquin, please…mmm…"

"Come on, baby. Let me inside. I want to feel my huge, throbbing cock inside of you." he whispered in his ear. "I want to see you on your back, screaming my name and choking on my cock when it goes down your throat."

"Joaquin, please…" Joaquin had Manolo on his back and his hand rubbing between his legs. The slightly younger male felt himself getting hard and more turned on with his dirty whispering in his ear. He tried getting away from him, but Joaquin's strong grip held him down. "Stop…please…I don't want to…mmm…aaah…"

Manolo felt Joaquin took off his pants and his underwear. He blushed when Joaquin let go of him and got in-between his legs and licked the head of his cock. Manolo moaned loudly and tried pushing him off, but he stayed there. He slowly took his cock into his mouth, impressing the younger male with him much he was taking in at once. Looks like he wasn't just a big mouth outside of the bedroom. Joaquin deepthroated his boyfriend's cock, enjoying the taste of it and the sounds he was making. He pulled away and stroked his cock as he licked his lips as he's brown eyes locked with Manolo's. He gripped the covers underneath him as the older man began sucking his cock with moves that would make a girl from those porn magazines Posada had. He felt himself coming closer to the edge.

"Joaquin...!" Manolo came inside of Joaquin's awaiting mouth. Joaquin didn't seem to mind. Hell he look like he enjoyed it. He swallowed every drop, making sure to clean up every drop off of his boyfriend's cock in case he missed some.

He got on top of him and pulled him into a passionate kiss, allowing him to taste the salty thick liquid. Manolo wasn't a huge fan of the taste, but mixed with Joaquin's spicy taste it was more tolerable. He felt Joaquin pull away and began to kiss on his neck until he heard a knock downstairs. He mentally cursed, annoyed at whoever was downstairs interrupting his private time with his boyfriend. He managed to get the taller man off of him and quickly got dressed, assuring a horny Joaquin he'd be back. He shut the door and quickly went downstairs. At the door was Maria.

"Hey, Manolo." said Maria. "I hope I wasn't intruding on anything."

"Oh no!" said Manolo, although his boyfriend would say otherwise. "I wasn't really doing anything. Just playing a bit of the guitar..."

"You still play? Maybe you could play me a little sometime." said Maria smiling. "You were always pretty good when we were children."

"Oh I'm no good. You'd hate it." said Manolo rubbing the back of his neck. He wished he could tell her to get lost without being rude about it.

"Don't be so modest. Joaquin says tells me you're pretty good...you know when he isn't bragging about all the medals he has." she said rolling her eyes. "I swear he wasn't all that egotistical when we were children. My father's rubbed off on him."

"Yeah, but he's harmless...mostly." he said laughing a little.

"You know, we've barely spoken since I've got here."

'I've had my reasons.' thought Manolo.

"Maybe we could change that. How about we hang out all day tomorrow? Just you and me."

"You and me?"

"Yeah. Just you and I." said Maria smiling somewhat shyly at him. "I mean unless you have something to do..."

"No, I'm not busy." said Manolo. "Sure. You don't want to invite Joaquin?"

"I would have, but he has training tomorrow. Speaking of him, have you seen him? Dad and Joaquin got drunk off their butts and of course my drunken father let him go home by himself. I stopped by his place and he wasn't home."

"He's upstairs sleeping like a baby." said Manolo. He didn't see any reason to lie to her.

"Good." she sighed with relief. "It's better he be here than elsewhere. Anyways, I'd better be off. Last time I left my father home alone drunk, he tried to run the streets naked."

"Well that's nasty thought." Manolo said cringed at the thought of the old man's naked body running the streets. "You'd better get back ASAP then."

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night, Manolo."

"Good night." As Maria walked away, Manolo waited until she was pretty far to shut the door and upstairs with his boyfriend. To his disappointment, the older man was fast asleep. Manolo sighed, deciding not to wake him up. "Damn it, Maria."

Well it was probably for the best anyways, he thought as rolled Joaquin over. Manolo wanted his first time to with the both of them being sober, not drunk. He wanted it to be special and memorable. He sighed as he took off his clothes and got into his pajamas. He laid down beside the older male and covered the two of them up before going to sleep.

The next morning, Joaquin woke up with a massive hang over. That would be the last time he'd do that much drinking with Posada and the other soldiers. Where was he anyways? He looked over and found Joaquin sleeping in his arms, smiling in his sleep. He looked adorable when he slept. He hoped he hadn't done anything wrong last night. He managed to slip from underneath him and get up. He laid a kiss on his forehead before readjusting the covers on him and slipping out of the house.

He looked down at his watch. Shit, he was late for training. He wasn't in the mood for it, so he just skipped it and went straight for a bath and try getting rid of his hang over. Manolo woke up a few hours later and noticed that Joaquin had left out of the house. He figured he must have went home and started to head over there himself when he remembered his plans with Maria. It wouldn't hurt if he went out with her. After all he didn't have romantic feelings for her. There wasn't anything wrong with that. Why did it feel like it was a bad idea then?


	7. Chapter 7

I can't believe I haven't updated this story since June 2nd, 2016 aka last year. I'm surprised I haven't come back to it. My bad. I'll do better.

* * *

As much as Manolo liked spending time with Maria, he didn't at the same time. It wasn't because she was boring or anything of the sort. It was quite the opposite. She was just as entertaining, adventurous, and interesting as before she had left. As a friend, she was alright in that regard. However Maria didn't seem too interested in friendship. She'd touch his arm in intimate ways, wrap her arm around his, send him flirtatious looks and smiles, and giggle a lot. He was afraid she was going to try to kiss him or ask him on an actual date. He wasn't going to pretend to go on a date with her. What if Joaquin saw the two of them and thought Manolo was leaving him for Maria or at least cheating on him? Even if he knew it was just a pretend date, other people would get the wrong idea and think they were together especially Posada. He didn't want the man thinking he was in love with Maria or pursuing her.

'I hope she doesn't like me like I think she is,' He thought as Maria was talking more about her school. 'I don't want to have to turn her down or lie to her.'

"Enough about me though. What about you? How have you been doing?"

"Oh me? Nothing much," He shrugged. "Just practicing bullfighting."

"Do you like it?"

"Not really. I'd rather play the guitar."

"Mind playing some for me?"

"If you'd like," Manolo thought about what song he wanted to play and then began to play his guitar and Maria seemed to enjoy the music. Once he was finished, she touched his arm.

"That was beautiful, Manolo!" she beamed at him. "You were always pretty good at playing guitar. Maybe you should consider making a career out of it."

"I've thought about it, but my father..."He sighed. Bullfighting had never been his thing and had been his father and mother's dream for him ever since he was young. He had thought about it a lot but never felt brave enough to tell his father. Every time he thought about mentioning it, his dad would always bring up how multiple generations of their family had done it or how his mother would be so proud of him. It was as if he read his mind during those moments.

"I see," Maria said with a sympathic look on her face. "Your father expects you to keep up the family traditions."

"Yeah. I want to tell him so bad and then he brings up my mother and how she would be so proud of me."

"Don't feel so bad," she wrapped a comforting arm around him. "I'm sure your mother would be proud of your for whatever you choose to do in life and I know she would love you for who you are."

"Probably."

'Would she really though?' He mentally asked. While he figured she was right about the bullfighting part, what about him loving another man? That was the part Manolo was more worried about. Would she accept his love for Joaquin or would she be horrified and disgust by him liking another man? He was partly glad he wouldn't be able to know the answer as he was scared to know the truth. He knew what his father would think if he told him that he was with a man. While he was already mad about the bullfight, at least he could get over it. It was one match. It wasn't like it was going to kill him. If he told him about loving his best friend who wasn't Maria or any female for that matter, he'd have a heart attack. It would kill him, then he'd come back, kill his son, and then bring Manolo back just so his father could kill him again. He'd for sure disown him and never speak to him again.

"You don't sound so sure."

"Because I'm not," said Manolo. "I want to say she wouldn't care, but you haven't heard my father. All he talks about his how much he and my mother wanted me do certain things. Maybe I don't want to do any of those things."

"And you don't have to if you don't want to. Do whatever makes you happy. If your dad doesn't like it, too bad. If he loves you, he'll respect whatever you decide to do in life and he'll still support you no matter what."

He just nodded but Maria could still see he wasn't sure of himself. She decided to change the subject. "It's getting late. I'd better get home before my dad throws a fit and sends an army after me."

"Right. Good-night, Maria." When he noticed she hadn't left, he realized she wanted to be walked home. "Um do you want me to walk you home?"

"Only if you want to."

"Sure." He walked back with her home with Maria's arm around his.

"It's a beautiful night tonight, isn't it?" She mused.

"Lovely," he said trying to keep up a non-depressed tone but failed. Maria instantly felt bad for bringing up his bullfighting and his family. She squeezed his hand in comfort.

When she got home, she thanked him for the great day. "And cheer up, Manolo. Things will get better. I promise."

"Mm-hm," He mumbled to himself. Maria touched his arm and let her hand linger there for a bit as he looked away from her. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. His eyes widened at the kiss and touched his cheek. She just kissed him. Any other day in their childhood, he would have fainted and then run off to rub it in Joaquin's face about it.

Maria had turned red and told him good night before running off inside. Manolo wasn't sure if she had done it to snap him out of it or if she actually liked him. Either way, Manolo was glad Joaquin hadn't seen him. He quickly went back home and curled up into bed to go to sleep. The following day, he went to visit Joaquin, the elderly maid let him inside as he was a close friend of Joaquin despite the taller man being gone.

"Where is he?"

"Something about flowers," the old woman said as she began dusting off an expensive vase in her boss's home. "No doubt for some lucky lady. He has some very big plans for tonight. I'm surpised he hadn't told you."

"Oh?" Was Joaquin planning something for him? The more the elderly woman began talking about overhearing her boss muttering about a fancy candlelight dinner, wine, flowers, and making the place look nice, both of them came to the conclusion Joaquin was planning something romantic. The younger man wondered what the occasion was for Joaquin to do this for. Was he planning on something?

"Perhaps he'll tell you later when he comes back. It's probably for the fair Miss Posada. She's a very beautiful woman and I've seen the way he looks at her."

"Oh really?" The way he looks at her, huh? He didn't like the sound of that. Joaquin better not be getting any ideas and he had better be just looking. The maid babbled on to say that the young man would often look at her with this lustful gleam in his eyes. She went on to say that he might have some feelings towards her and he was likely to be asking her out. "I see."

He could hear Joaquin come into the house. He went to the door to greet him. The taller male was surprised to see him there. "Oh! Manolo, there you are. I was looking for you."

"Mm-hm," Manolo said. "Can I speak to you somewhere else?"

"Yeah sure. Come up to my office."

When they had gotten inside of his upstairs office, Manolo locked the door behind him. Joaquin hopped on the couch and Manolo sat beside him inside of sitting on his lap like his boyfriend clearly wanted. "Joaquin, you know I love you right?"

"And I love you too."

"You're not...you're not into Maria still are you?" He asked nervously. He hoped his boyfriend wouldn't lie to him especially in his face.

"Maria? What the hell kind of question is that?" He said with an offended look on his face. "I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"I mean yes but..."

"But what?"

"I...I...I just...I see the way you look at her and I just feel like you would rather be with her than me," He fiddled with his fingers as he looked away from his boyfriend. "I know you used to like her and maybe there's something still there."

Joaquin held his smaller hands inside of his own larger ones. "Manolo, I don't love her. She's just a nice piece of ass, that's all."

He slapped him. "I'm being serious!"

"It was just a joke, calm down!"

"Don't joke about something like that when I'm terrified of losing you, dumb ass!" he snapped.

"I'm sorry, Manny," He wrapped his arms around him. "Maria is just a friend and any love I have towards her is platonic. You're the only person I love, okay? Nobody will ever come between us."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am." He kissed his they sat there together, Manolo still had that bit of doubt in the back of his mind. Lustful looks were one thing, but what if looks turned into sex?

Manolo hadn't given into sex so far and maybe the taller man would use that as an excuse to cheat on him with Maria. If his boyfriend did that, he wouldn't know what to do. The man he loved sleeping with a woman would be devastating especially a girl the two of them had feelings for years ago. He said he was over her, but that was before they saw her again. Even after she came back, neither had discussed the possibility of lingering romantic feelings towards her. The brunette couldn't find a reason to ask before. Now he had to keep an eye on the guy. Just to be sure. It hadn't been the first time he thought about the possibility that the taller man might leave him. There were women in town that were smitten with Joaquin that were very lovely and would often flirt with him. Joaquin had his fair share himself, but overall the real focus in any female in the town's eyes were on Joaquin, who was with Manolo.

"If you ever left me, I don't know what I would do," He whispered.

"Same here," He rubbed his back. "I love you, Manolo. If I didn't, something would be seriously wrong with me."

Joaquin pulled away from him. "I have a surprise for you."

"What kind?"

"Just come back tonight. You'll love it." Manolo could have told him that Joaquin that he knew already, but he didn't want to ruin Joaquin's plans. Besides, there may be something more to their dinner plans tonight so he kept quiet. He told him that he'd see him later that night for sure. After he stayed to talk with him, Manolo listening intensely about Joaquin training soldiers and Posada's urging him to get married. "Actually more like pestering now that I think about it."

"He's been doing that for a while, hasn't he?"

"When I was younger, he'd mention it. He's been really pushing it now." He confessed.

"You've told me."

"No I mean he's been really pushing it. It used to be once or twice. Now he's been going at it like crazy these past few days. I'm thinking about leaving here just to get away from hearing it."

"Where are you thinking of going?"

"Still thinking on it...and I was thinking of taking you," He grinned at him.

"Me?"

"Why not? It can be a little vacation for the two of us," He pressed him closer to where his ear was. "Maybe a little time alone to fuck each other's brains out in the process."

"J-joaquin!" He turned bright red as his boyfriend smirked at his expression. "You know how I feel about that kind of thing!"

"I know," He purred. "I just like the look on your face when I say it. Besides, are you sure you aren't ready or are you just scared?"

"Scared?"

"Yeah...that my dick will be too big for you and might tear something."

"How do I know you're not exaggerating? For all we know, I could be much bigger than you myself."

"We'll just have to see don't we? Do you want me to pull it out for you?"

"Heck no! Don't say things like that."

"Hey we may as well get it over with, don't we?" He went for his belt. Manolo stopped him. "I was just kidding. It isn't like you could handle the sight of it anyways."

"Keep telling yourself that," He rolled his eyes. After talking for a bit more, the two of the parted ways with Joaquin staying in the house for his boyfriend's surprise. He couldn't wait for the other man to see what he had for him that night. Now to get everything right before it was time for Manolo to come over.


End file.
